Food Safety Management/HACCP

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a process that helps you look at how you handle food and introduce procedures to make sure that the food you produce is safe to eat.

Under current European Union legislation, food businesses are required to implement and maintain permanent procedures based on HACCP principles as detailed below: 

Seven principles of HACCP:

• identify what could go wrong (the hazards)
• identify the most important points where things can go wrong (the critical control points – CCPs)
• set critical limits at each CCP (e.g. cooking temperature/time)
• set up checks at CCPs to prevent problems occurring (monitoring)
• decide what to do if something goes wrong (corrective action)
• prove that your HACCP Plan is working (verification)
• keep records of all of the above (documentation)

You will need to review it from time to time, especially whenever something in your food operation changes. You may also wish to ask one of our Environmental Health Officers for advice.

During inspections Environmental Health Officers check that the business has an appropriate HACCP-based food safety management system in place. Your HACCP and associated records must be kept up to date and be available for inspection at all times on your premises.